Pours a moderately-dark brown color with a thin off-white head. A bit of a collar throughout. The nose carries a really nice bouquet of fruits with some stone fruits as well as some of the darker, cherry-like variety. Caramel and brown sugar, too. The flavor added in a bit of earthy hops to go alongside some brown sugar and sweety malt. Chewy with a nice fruit presence. Pretty good brew. (455 characters)

On tap @ the Mad Fox Brewing Company (Falls Church, VA) on 2/11/12 during their 2nd Annual Barleywine Festival. Served in a small footed Pils glass.

Pours a clear dark copper, with a creamy ring of white head that is maybe showing a bit more of an off-color at times. This maintains a decent richness to it, throwing up a frothy cascade that leaves back some spotty lacing. The aroma smells of caramel, brown sugar, herbal hops, and some darker fruit character. This all melds nicely together in the nose.

The taste has a lot of fruit to it (mostly dark), with a herbal and earthy feeling hop presence. Sweeter notes of caramel and brown sugar come out along the back before this finishes dry and warm with some lingering spicy alcohol on the finish. The mouthfeel is fuller bodied, with a pleasant feeling mellower creaminess to the carbonation. There is some warmth present from the ABV but it isn’t too intrusive and mostly just adds extra sweetness and spiciness to this.

This fell somewhere between an English and American take on the Barleywine style for me. While the nose on this was fine, I was a bit disappointed in the overall taste, as it just didn’t have a whole lot of richness to it considering the flavors that were present. This one ended up being a bit forgettable compared to some of the other ones that I tried this day. (1,349 characters)

I "horned" this stuff the morning after the Boonville Beer Fest ("horning" means drinking in Boontling supposedly). Copper color with a white head. Aroma of sweet caramel malt, fruit, and some hops. Flavor is sweet, malty, and fruity, with caramel, earth, and some hops on the finish. Medium-full, smooth palate. Very "hornable" for the style. (374 characters)

Taste: Sweet caramel and a little ripe plum/berry but has a slightly unsatisfactory candied edge. In the middle there is more candied ripe fruit, some brown sugar, and some spice. Faint dry caramel notes. Finish is pretty dry and bitter but has some grass as well as spice to it. (365 characters)

Poured a nice copper color with a small white head ad good carbonation.Nose is malty, esters, hops, sweet. Taste is thinner bodied, sweet, dry, booze. Not many pronounced flavors. Mouthfeel was thin, caramel, booze. Overal worth a shot but not one of my favorite barlewywines. (276 characters)

At first you get hit with candied grape and plum sweetness with toffee and bready notes. These flavor components continue into the sweet finish. The finish is rather short and mellow with minimal hop influence. Alcohol is not really noticeable. I would characterize it as fruity overall.

Palate is lighter side of heavy with minimal carbonation.

This is probably the most drinkable BW that I have had. I would say that it leans much more to the English style, without much of an alcohol presence at all. Nice beer. (680 characters)

on tap at isaac newtown's: deep crystal-clear mahogany color topped by a small and creamy tan head. monstorously malty aroma of caramel-dipped apples and brown sugar. more subtle spruce like hoppiness underneath. sturdy medium body, lightly carbonated and chewy in the mouth. massive malt profile goes from carmelized sugar to a light fruitiness and everywhere in between. hops are there more for balancing and take on a pine resin-like quality. ABV is unnoticeable, remains qutie drinkable for a barleywine. this is a nice beer that it seems not a lot of people have gotten to try. not just a super-hopped west coast clone, this beer seems to have some unique characteristics. i would order this again with pleasure. (717 characters)

As it spills majestically from the tap into my waiting goblet, the beer presents a limpid mahogany color, the head portly in size, creamy in texture with the color an eye-appealing light tan, and as the head sinks slowly into oblivion, a velum like sheet of lace forms and welds itself to the goblet. The nose has a monstrous sweet malt aroma at the front with hints of butter, also a soupon of alcohol was present, a fine sniffing beer it tis. Start is favorably sweet, strong malt profile; the top is moderate to full in its feel to the palate. Finish is forbearing in its acidity, the hops are bounteous, and the 8.6 percent ABV, makes its presence known by the Tummy Warming feel with the aftertaste dry and long lasting, another magnificent beer from an extraordinary brewery. (880 characters)

I originally sampled this on 7 December 2002 at the Strong Ale Fest at Pizza Port in Carlsbad, California. I am writing this review from my notes. This beer was extremely dissapointing. There wasn't much flavor or anything else going for it. It didn't have a *bad* taste, it just didn't have any taste. (302 characters)